A man of Prinicple

A Man of Principle

Leonard Peltier is a man of principle.  He is considered a murderer by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI).  He is considered a political prisoner by activists and others across the world.  Leonard Peltier gives us his point of view of who he is in his book, “Prison Writings:  My Life Is My Sun Dance”.  He is a person that is represented by his names.  Throughout his life he has been given different names.  These names bring different elements in his life.  These elements are set by principle of humanity.

Leonard was born in September 12^th, 1944 in Grand Forks, North Dakota.  His maternal grandmother is a full-blood Sioux.  His father is three-fourths Ojibwa and one-fourth French.  He was raised by his grandparents, which is tradition in most Native American cultures.  Peter Matthiessen accounts power points of realizations from Leonard Peltier's childhood to his adulthood (In the Spirit of Crazy Horse pg.41-57).  One of the pivotal moments in his life was when he became a part of the American Indian Movement (AIM) in 1970.  The confrontation at that time was the Fort Lawton takeover outside of Seattle, Washington.  This is where some of the principles set by his family would be displayed. 

The principles that Leonard Peltier learned to live by are those of his parents who learned from their parents and so on.  He lived by the means of his people and only relative to them (43).  At eight years old he developed the understanding of what racism and hate meant.  In the beginning of understanding these words, he didn’t know what a dirty Indian meant.  In 1953, Leonard experienced the United States government boarding schools for Indians.  He would realize the hard reality of being assimilated as European.  In 1958, he witnessed his first Sun Dance ceremony and became aware how spirituality is very important.  This was during a time when it was illegal to practice traditional ceremonies.  He understood that his people’s beliefs and way of life were on a path of extinction.  He understood that principles were being broken.  Leonard Peltier’s spirit would not be broken as easily as principles.  The Federal Bureau of Investigation will forever try and break his spirit.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) considers Leonard Peltier a murderer because of evidence that makes him the primary suspect for the killing of two FBI agents.  This event happened on June 26^th, 1975 on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.  Peter Matthiessen, in the book, “In the Spirit of Crazy Horse: The Story of Leonard Peltier and The FBI’s War on the American Indian Movement”, recalls Leonard Peltier’s verdict of judgment as guilty for these crimes.  The preface in “Prison Writings” is the statement by former Attorney General of the United States and counsel to Leonard Peltier, Ramsey Clark states, “one prosecutor admitted, ‘we did not know who shot the agents’”.  A story accounts for two sides and this is the other side of it.

A reservation is considered a political community by Congress members.  So therefore, a person that’s incarcerated that is part of this community must be a political prisoner.  Peltier recalls the events that were taking place to dissolve the Native American culture (88-120).  Since Leonard Peltier is still in prison for a crime that has been corrupted by the FBI to convict someone of an embarrassment by their own actions, he is a political prisoner and symbolizes the injustices performed by a nation that states that it is a nation of freedom.  Although he is in prison under the name #89637-132, he has other names that give him spiritual power.

Tate Wikuwa is a name given to him by the Dakota people.  It means “Wind Chases the Sun” and it represents freedom of the heart.  Peltier states that, “Wind Chases the Sun gives me the ability to feel free inside stone walls and steel bars” (61).  With this perception of his name, this means that no place, person, or thing could ever get in the way of feeling true freedom which is inside one’s self.  This other name is relevant to his life and what he stands for.

Gwarth-ee-lee is a name given to him by Canada's Native People.  This name means, “He Leads the People”.  Peltier states that this name represents, “total commitment” (62).  Even though he is behind prison walls he has helped established organization to help people with the basic needs to live in modern society.  He tries to display leadership as a kind of leader that he would respect.  These names given to him by Indigenous people are powerful and fit his sense of being.

As a person of his being I am related to this man’s injustices and struggles.  Maybe more than others because I know the struggle and disparity at it’s extreme.  Leonard Peltier is a person that fought and still fights for his people.  His people give him life, give him meaning, and gives him a purpose to live for others and not self.  Leonard Peltier is a man to be forever honored.

Work Cited

Matthiessen, Peter. In the Spirit of Carzy Horse: The Story of Leonard Peltier and the FBI’s War on the American Indian Movement. London. Penguin Books. 1992

Peltier, Leonard.  Prison Writings: My Life is my Sun Dance. Ed. Harvey Arden. New York: St. Martin Press. 1999.

Annotated Bibliography

Matthiessen, Peter. In the Spirit of Carzy Horse: The Story of Leonard Peltier and the FBI’s War on the American Indian Movement. London. Penguin Books. 1992

Leonard Peltiers childhood and adulthood are detailed in how he was raised and how he became a part the American Indian Movement.  The trial of the killing of two FBI agents on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation was the case of the United States v. Leonard Peltier. 

The different names he was given and the meaning life that they portrayed.

Peltier, Leonard.  Prison Writings: My Life is my Sun Dance. Ed. Harvey Arden. New York: St. Martin Press. 1999.

Leonard gives the definition of who he is and where he came from.  He explains the reality of being incarcerated in America’s prison system.  The different names has been given throughout his life reflect on how people think of him.  The most important names I think are those that bring him the abundance of life.